Updates and such...

What a glorious weekend we just had. Just being outside could have turned anyone's frown upside down...anyone's debbie downer into a happy harriet. My mood was seriously lifted when I skipped on over to Central Market and picked up some Bittersweet branches which=fall goodness in the form of sticks with orange and yellow tiny blossoms. They are in a huge vase in my living room and I love looking at them.

Joshua has been a ridiculous above and beyond top of the top father-to-be/man desperate to sell a house for the past few weeks. He's been doing things like making beds, loading/unloading dishwashers, making meals all while at the same time packing up all unecessary objects and furniture in this house. I've been trying my best(since yesterday) to step up my game and do something things for him in return. I made dinner! That counts!

Tomorrow night some agents are coming over here to "stage" my house. I don't know how I feel about this except that I think i'm going to conveniently not be here!

The most exciting thing to happen over the past few days was our second ultrasound last week. Watching those two little real babies on the screen was crazy! Like there they were....real little babies moving around with ants in their pants. Josh has already diagnosed them both with ADD. I did desperately hate this twin doctor specialist that I had to go to, but it was worth it for the show!

Have a glorious week....goodbye!

Secret's Out!!!

SOooooooooooooo....for the past month I've been keeping the best best best best secret and Monday the secret got even better!!! Babies! Babies! Babies! We're having two babies over here in the newest Samet house! All day long I just stop in my tracks and think.....holy hell......twins!! So exciting, so crazy, soooooooooooooooooooooo has not yet sunk in! What I really want to do now is post the pic. Is that aloud? I mean part of me doesn't believe in it, but now that it's me, WHO CARES!!!!

So here they are... Baby A and Baby B Samet! Have a glorious, glorious, glorious day!

Ohhhhhhhh Hi Ma'am it's you again!

Anyone know where the title from this blog was pulled from?? I'll be so excited if someone knows!
THANK YOU SARIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! Thank you for waking me from the blogging dead. I've been so consumed by school and my school blog and SLEEP! Last night I forced myself to stay up until 8 and then slept like a baby through the night. Ohhhh Kindergarten....I love you, I hate you, I love you, I hate you...I LOVE YOU! Here are some of the highlights:

-Only 15 kids in my class
-A kid already pooped his pants
-My kids are gone half the day in "specials"
-One of my kids pulled his pants/underwear down the first week
-My principal has already taken me to lunch twice
-One of my girls puked on the lunch table today

Private school really is an interesting place....new drama....new faces.....new fun! Did I mention we almost bought a house is meyerland last weekend????????????? Yes.....we did! Something came up fast, we had to make a move fast, and the deal disappeared before we knew it FAST. I'm happy. After we made the offer, I hoped all day that it wouldn't work out. I'm just not ready to leave my house. I love it. The only problem is that Joshy's dream would come true if we moved there, so I may have to comprimise very soon.

Speaking of Joshy.....he came home and made me breakfast for dinner tonight. I looooooooooove breakfast for dinner! Love, love, love! Now we're watching Big Brother....thank you jesus it's almost over. About 3 more weeks....oh wait....that's not almost over...that's practically another MONTH!!!

Side note: I did go walking tonight and I think that's why I have more energy tonight. Next week I'll do it more often. When does the time change? I'll be sad when it's lighter earlier. But then, it will be fall and I loooooooooooooooooooooooove fall! Just like Sari.

Happy Friday!

I love this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There really isn't much to say about this...it speaks for itself! I sure hope my kids get this kind of quality time with their Savta!!

Feeling good.....feeling reaaaaaallllllll good!

A few notes about Private Jew School....

-You ask for something, you will probably get it.
-You have to buy two packets of multicultural kid shaped cut outs just to make sure there are enough white people.
-There is a chef with an egg white omelet station and turkey bacon at the "Welcome Back" breakfast.
-The background music playing at the breakfast is The Jersey Boys Broadway Musical Soundtrack.
- You send professionally designed logo post cards out to your new kids to let them know they are in your class.
-The principal asks older teachers to tell the new teachers what it is they love about the school, and they all have tears in their eyes as they describe the school where they work!

More later.....I love my new job! And now for a sneak peak into my new room!!! I fear that the pictures don't quite translate what it really looks like, but I'm really into it!

Best Show of the Summer

Ooooooooooooooooooook.....I have to say that summer television has been above par this year. Weeds, Entourage, Nurse Jackie...I've even given in to Big Brother and fall asleep every night watching it live and uncut on Showtime. There is one show, however, that is flying below most people's radar and that is The Great American Road Trip on NBC. I love it so much! I cry everytime I watch. The premise is different kinds of families from all over the U.S. on a road trip across Route 66. They compete in challenges at each stop, which is the worst part, because it always mean someone has to go home. Kind of like on Biggest Loser how you never want anyone to go home, because then you know they won't get the same kind of support. Same thing!!!! All of the kids have become friends and the parents have become good friends....I just love EVERY SECOND of it. I do have a favorite family....The Pollards from hickville Alabama. They call themselves rednecks, so I think it's ok that I call them hicks. Here's the link to the website http://www.nbc.com/great-american-road-trip/ in case you now feel compelled to meet all of the families and here is a picture of the Pollard's.

They are now in the top 3. I'm so proud! Goooooooooooooooooooo Pollards!!

Holy Hell....the snob squad has a baby!!!

I just can't believe that it's all happening. I can't believe we are 27 and having babies and are still friends. It's such a good crazy feeling to be a grown-up. Like weddings......we were all half grown-ups. Babies=real real real real grown-up. Me and Joshy got to New Orleans late Saturday night just in time to tell little Grant goodnight as he continued to bake in the tanning bed and get that liver working right. Lars was already scheming as to how she could trick the doctors into keeping her in the hospital one more day because she was sure Grant would have to spend another night. Very motherly....very cute! Everyone was relieved when he was good to go the next morning and everybody was going home. Lars is calm and happy.....Milo is hyper-active and happy and ready to do anything to be the co-pilot on this parenting mission. He even surprised Lauren and Grant with a welcome home flag. He explained to me and Josh that morning at Caffe Caffe how amazing it was because "It's a Boy" velcros on so just in case they need "It's a Girl" next time, they're good! Love that Milo! By the time we left them at home all alone as this new little family everything was right in the Barrios house. It smelled good, Lars was showered, there were fresh sheets on the bed, and Milo was sitting on the couch holding that little tiny baby. I can't wait to go back and I can't wait until Anne Elizabeth gets here so we can have one in our own city!

HUhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh????

That's what my body is asking my brain right now....like huhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...I've been idle for three months, accomplishing about one thing a day and now I'm in major full-effect and my body is SP-ENT! My classroom is really starting to come along. I'm almost ready to post some pics, but not quite there yet.

A few things for you to ponder....

1.) What could possibly be making my tailbone "click" each time I step. The pain is very minor. I may not even notice that it was hurting if I couldn't hear the click sound every time I take a new step...any thoughts???

2.) My insides won't stop spinning. I know I'm nervous/excited about school, but seriously....I can't sleep because my mind can't stop thinking up new ideas to make myself appear to be a kindergarten teacher.


ok....that's enough pondering!!

Tomorrow we get to find out the sex of Baby Bruno. I'm sooooooooooooo excited I can barely stand it. I'm also going to visit with Andi tomorrow for some color. I need it....just ask Milo, he confirmed that I have way too many grey's for a 27 yr old. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.....saying 27 out loud is scary for a second there....I'm over it.

I feel like I had so much to announce to my blogging friends, but now it all escapes me! Almost the hump boys and girls! Have a great day!!!

Only Skinny Wannabes are this Ridiculous

It's one thing to count points and make healthy decisions and be aware of what you are eating...blah blah blah...BUT, I think that this morning I forgot the words BALANCED DIET and just went wayyyyyyyyyy overboard in the "I'm pretend skinny" department. Here's how it went down. We got a George Forman all-in-one grill/panini press/waffle maker. We've never used it, so this morning while Josh was in the shower getting ready for work I decided to be a darlin and run downstairs and make waffles. Now, I use whole grain mix for pancakes all the time, but I forgot to factor in that the waffle maker was a lean, mean, fat burning machine, that I only had canola oil, that I only had soy milk, that I only had I can't believe it's not butter, and that I only had sugar free syrup. The waffles seriously tasted like cardboard. Joshy smiled his way through them anyway and even added a "Jessie, it's fiber!(with and exclamation point)"

Tangent- White Linen Night in the Heights.....hmmm....what was missing? I never went to the one in New Orleans that people talk and rave about like it's the best night out of their lives, so I only have made up in my mind what it is supposed to be like. So what I've imagined is wine and apps in every open shop and great live music and crazy give-aways. It's like The Heights is half way there, but it was more of a family night out with pet adoptions on every corner and lemonade and fruit punch as the greatest giveaway. The highlights were the fact that Neecole has a REAL baby bump(like the kind you can feel and photograph) and that Sarah Peirce had on the greatest Old Navy find and that Lucio's is still serving that fried begniet(sp?) like pita bread! Holla! Maybe this morning's waffle fiasco was actually just karma serving me up something to balance out that deep fried deliciousness.....and there it is...I just brought this ridiculous tangent back full circle to the opening waffle story.

Have a glorious Sunday!

Manly

Josh has just proved me wronnnnnnnnng wrong! I'm very guilty of THINKING that he can't fix things and TELLING people that he can't fix things. So about 15 minutes ago when I turned on the kitchen faucet and all of sudden the sprayer fell off and water was shooting me directly in the face and then bouncing off of my cheeks alllllllll over the kitchen, having Joshy patch it up was not even a thought in my mind. It wasn't even a thought in his mind(which is why I have the anti-fix-it opinion of him in the first place). He immediately called his dad to schedule a plummer to come out and then being so smart, he remembered that there should have been a cord attached. So just as he set me up on lowes.com to pick out a new faucet, he says "wait jessie, I can fix this." I proceeded to say "you know you're just going to get aggrevated!" Then, in about 3 short minutes, just as I was about to have a mild panic attack about the fact that kitchen faucets cost $200 and up, I hear my manly husband say from the kitchen, "nevermind, I fixed it!"

I'm so proud!

Chaos...

Wellllllllllllllllllll.....I bit the bullet and went to my classroom today to tackle what I knew would be a challenging sort/clean out/organizing extravaganza. As I started to open cabinets and look in bins alllllllllll over the room, I realized that this would be an even bigger task than I originally thought. I was only there for a good 30 minutes before my amazing co-pilot showed to slap me around, pump me up, and boss me around as we got er done. Well not really done done, but like there is not one thing left on a shelf or in a cabinet because we threw things away and made huge piles all over the room in categories like "art supplies" and "literacy tools" and "math manipulatives." I can't wait until tomorrow is over because we will have everything in its place and have the perfect blank canvas for our backyard/treehouse theme. I secretly wish Rachel would just sneak in there and finish it off for me and call me in when it's time to decorate. I wish I had a before pic....i'll take it tomorrow.

Chocolate Chip Softies

As much as I love Hungry Girl, the truth of it really is that most of the recipes are good in theory, but never really turn out the way they are supposed to....in a watery when they are supposed to be creamy kind of way, but tonight things changed!!

Chocolate Chip Softies made very skinny with whole wheat flour, egg beaters, applesauce, and pumpkin.......sooooooooooo good. Josh even says(while eating his second softy) are these really skinny? Ha! Love it! Perfect for breakfast or a snack at only one point a piece. You have to buy the book 200 Recipes for Under 200 Calories to get the recipe(or ask me), but here is a link to the page with all the points: Hungry Girl Points . Just one secret....I may have put an extra tablespoon of chocolate chips...on accident!

Classroom Inspiration

Marla sent me the link to the Girl on the Moon blog yesterday to show me how Christie has been blogging about Etsy finds. www.girlonthemooncreative.com/blog I had no idea how amazing etsy was.....like so amazing why would I shop anywhere else. Sooooo....thanks Crib for inspiring me to shop Etsy for some Mrs. Samet's Treehouse classroom inspiration. Here are some of the goods I found...

.

Creative leaves and branches and vines are exactly what I'm going to need to make my treehouse wonderland kindergarten friendly. A lookout with a ladder and swings and even some green themed pennants are also going to be great additions around my room. I do think the greatest find was the TREEHOUSE STAMP! Seriously.....don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I'm gonna do it! I think it's time to go to the teacher store and get the ball rolling on this. Let me know if you come across a gem of a treehouse idea!

Monday Runday

I woke up this morning sans alarm at 7:30 and somehow was able to convince myself not to waste this opportunity and to get up, get dressed, and get myself to Rice where as marla says "it is always shady." Shady like....covered in trees, not to be confused with weird people circling the track.

News flash...starting today, you have to pay $1 to park in the visitor lot...what a crock. It wouldn't be a big deal if every block close to the track didn't have a no parking sign, but now I'm going to have to find somewhere free to park. Hmmmm....I'll let you know when I do. I was able to park free today because the machine wasn't working, so the regulator told me not to worry about it. So I pulled in...feeling nervous, because I accidentally took one week off, but hopped on the track and got going. Just like riding a bike...slow and steady all the way to the end. There are so many people to watch there...i love it. My favorite thing to do is watch the jogging strollers and see what the most popular brand is and what kind the cutest running moms have, and then all at the same time wonder how they are so damn skinny. I'm assuming it's because of their jogging stroller, which to me means even if they do cost $399....it's worth it!

Speaking of babies and strollers....I'm officially clomided up today. I did notice as I was swallowing the first pill that in big bold font I see the word WARNING on the prescription package, so I continue to read... WARNING:using this medicine may result in MULTIPLE pregnancies(ie, twins etc.) Ha! What are you gonna do??? I swallowed anyway.

Have a glorious day out there...I know I am!

Lakeview

I've decided that I officially have an unhealthy relationship with Lauren and Milo's house. I'm OBSESSSSSSED with it. Like...lars gives "young house love" a MAJOR run for their money. I think the reason why is that they both use House Beautiful as their bibles. It's just the perfect mix of old meets new....crisp, light, clean, with the perfect graphic print fabrics everywhere and the perfect "i bought these candlesticks at a flea market, not crate and barrel" look. She wasn't even afraid to paint her bathroom flamingo pinkish orange and it's so perfect with tiny white tile flooring and a claw foot bathtub and wrap around shower curtain. Did I mention that the whole house smells like a different classically clean bath and body scent in each room???? I could go on obsessing about the sunroom, the backyard, the other bedrooms, the nursery(which is now finished), the crystal pendant lights dangling in the kitchen, but I won't....I'm done! Now, I just need to go find myself the perfect old house to re-do myself....in Houston of course. Dropping off Joshy at Harrah's, then picking up boog, then josh is MAKING(ha) me go to Dominique's because there is a sale that ends today. Have I mentioned that I LOVE HIM????? Because I do seriously....luckiest girl in the world!

Running

Guess what I just did....downloaded a half marathon schedule. For the first time I have doubts. Seeing a calendar with a different exercise listed on almost every single day of the whole week for 12 weeks suddenly concerns me. Like....i don't think i've ever committed to a "program" for that long. Did anyone else look at it yet?? Here's the link.... http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm Goooooooooooo get em! I need someone who is ready to obsess about it on my team. I mean is anyone running yet. I started practicing 3 miles it's just soooooooooooo damn HOT! Something else I need to talk about....24hr fitness. I never go....but I'm nervous to cancel as I now see that stretch and strength training are required to be a marathoner. Are we going to go to pilates and strength training together?? Get back to me on that sari....since you are the only one reading this...ha! I think we need a physically fit mentor of the week. I'll pick for this week.

Remember when Drew started running and got so much cooler???? I do! You're going to be calling me Drew in no time. In fact, go ahead and start right now. I guess I'll wake up and go running since I've got myself all fired up! Gooooooooooooooooooooooo FITNESS!

Summer

It feels like summer started five minutes ago, but it didn't. It's actually almost over. Normally I have lots of anxiety at this point, but this summer is different. Everything is so calm and so easy. Even though I have an entire classroom of junk to sort, purge, and then organize, it still feels calm. Even though I then have to bring in all of my own crap to sort, purge, and organize, I still feel calm. I love when all the world makes sense. I even have to figure out how to be an allstar kindergarten teacher, but I'm not even worried! It's C-RAZY!!! But it feels great!

I've done something slightly intense and that is to register for the Houston half marathon. It doesn't seem that unattainable, and now that I've committed I guess I better figure out how to attain it and fast. Like download a schedule or something and start following it.

I had 2 family vacays in one last week. Real quick like ran up to Minnesota with Joshy for some high quality real good feel good time with the Torks. It was more than fun. It felt like home and I loved every second.


Then, we skipped on over to Galveston for quality family time with the Samet's. It's no Gulf Shores, but it was good enough! Liam was the star of the show as he should be because he is soooooooooooooo insanely A-dorable!!!


I've noticed that sarah has been blogging like nobody's reading. Like.....she'll write something that she knows is shocking to everyone and she'll kind of care, but not enough to not post it. I've decided that's what I'm going to do. Because, while everything feels calm, there are still too many cancers, broken thyroids, and motherless families to deal with in the meantime!

Apollo Drive

Jessica Samet at 8:02pm February 26

I want to go lay on the Apollo Dr. couch right now and watch baby jump up on the blue chair and slide down the arm into the perfect spot and eat reduced fat cheez-its and chocolate chip snackwells and then maybe go up in the treehouse....anybody else?


Jodi Friedman at 8:16pm February 26

Can we also lay under the blanket,watch dirty dancing , then have a car wash in the driveway, and then go look at your bunny, then years later eat eat 1 point banana popsicles

Christie Bickerstaff at 11:23am February 27

Anyone wanna watch Marybelle and Jezebelle while we throw some pizza bagles in the toaster oven and drink gallons of Tropicana OJ out of paper cups and then pretend to throw our cups at Baby so he stops SCREAMING!?

Marla Peirce at 2:35pm February 27

oh Jeezebelle!